Health Insurance, Clinic, and Cookies

Wednesday, October 09, 2013

October 1, 2013, was the start of open enrollment for affordable
care act at healthcare.gov. So during my down time early in
the week, I made it a point to look at the site, and get acquainted
with it just in case any patients had questions. The site is very
easy to use with the initial process involving a few pages of
information to fill out to set up an account. You can also select
the state you are in to get information about that state's health
insurance marketplace or to be sent directly to that site to apply.
The site has been running a little slow due to large amounts of
people using it, but overall it's very simple to use.

The clinic time this week flew by. We had a very busy week at
the Chicago clinic with a high volume of patients and X-rays to be
taken. Having a large number of patients is great for me as a ninth
trimester intern because as soon as the tenth trimester students
finish with their numbers for graduation, those patients are turned
over to us. That process has already begun since several of the
tenth trimester students already have some of the numbers
completed.

Even though we do not have a large amount of our own patients,
we ninth trimester interns still have plenty to do to keep busy.
Each week we are assigned to a particular tenth trimester intern
whom we help with patient care and charting. Also, any of the X-ray
patients that come in are mainly our responsibility. Any other down
time we have is dedicated to file audits, OAPs that need to
written, and research to help with patient care.

On Sunday evening, Rob and I made Halloween cutout cookies, one
of my favorite Halloween traditions, for a party we are having in a
few weeks. Every year I forget how long the cookie making process
actually takes between making the dough, rolling out the dough,
cutting out the shapes, baking, frosting, decorating, and cleanup
afterward. But it is all worth it when they are finished because
they taste and look great! Plus, throughout the baking process, we
watch one of the best horror movies, "Halloween," and listen to my
favorite Halloween themed music. If you haven't noticed yet, I'm a
bit of a Halloween fanatic. Next week, I'll be sure to include some
pictures of my decorations.